It has been mentioned by many today, but I just wanted to add my own thanks to Larry Shyatt and the stability and pride he brought to UW Basketball. We weren't often the best team in the MWC during his tenure, but we were respected as an opponent in a way we have not been under most coaches in the revenue sports in the last 15 years.
For better or for worse, University of Wyoming Basketball means so much to me personally. Basketball was my escape as a child and UW Basketball was my passion. I spent hours pretending to be Reggie Slater on the driveway regardless of a few snow flurries or the Wyoming Wind and I would sequester myself in my bedroom to listen to the Pokes on the radio and track the stats religiously (no GameTracker or online streaming in those days!).
If I am honest, I have to admit that I attended UW primarily so that I could go to the AA and see every game. I was rewarded my freshman year with "Shyatt Happens". The friends that joined me in the AA on those incredible nights when we knocked off UNM and Utah and convinced our girlfriends to go to the AA on Valentine's Day to hear us scream "F U BYU" became the life long friends that I ended up in long text conversations today discussing Shyatt's departure. UW, and hoops in particular, are the thread that ties us together.
I am not ashamed to admit that when the Pokes won the MWCT to punch their ticket to the dance last year that I shed tears of joy. It was about more than that game. It was the journey, for the program and for myself.
I am not prone to being a cheerleader in sports or in real life, and I realize that my evaluations on here can seem harsh at times, but I never doubted that Larry Shyatt was a positive force for UW athletics and by extension UW itself.
For being that positive force, and for making me proud of my Wyoming Cowboys again, I thank you Papa Shy.
For better or for worse, University of Wyoming Basketball means so much to me personally. Basketball was my escape as a child and UW Basketball was my passion. I spent hours pretending to be Reggie Slater on the driveway regardless of a few snow flurries or the Wyoming Wind and I would sequester myself in my bedroom to listen to the Pokes on the radio and track the stats religiously (no GameTracker or online streaming in those days!).
If I am honest, I have to admit that I attended UW primarily so that I could go to the AA and see every game. I was rewarded my freshman year with "Shyatt Happens". The friends that joined me in the AA on those incredible nights when we knocked off UNM and Utah and convinced our girlfriends to go to the AA on Valentine's Day to hear us scream "F U BYU" became the life long friends that I ended up in long text conversations today discussing Shyatt's departure. UW, and hoops in particular, are the thread that ties us together.
I am not ashamed to admit that when the Pokes won the MWCT to punch their ticket to the dance last year that I shed tears of joy. It was about more than that game. It was the journey, for the program and for myself.
I am not prone to being a cheerleader in sports or in real life, and I realize that my evaluations on here can seem harsh at times, but I never doubted that Larry Shyatt was a positive force for UW athletics and by extension UW itself.
For being that positive force, and for making me proud of my Wyoming Cowboys again, I thank you Papa Shy.
